Greek Roundtable by BBW: Unexpectedly very interesting

After a very difficult weekend, full of problems and work, Monday’s sun was like a relief. Although the day started with a depressing discussion, the endless flow of clients coming the next days brought back the feeling of adrenaline and the excitement of creation. In the same time, I was really proud to see my people working as a team and preparing a very interesting catalogue of properties for our participation in MIPIM, in just 2 weeks from now. But most of all, the sun… For all people around the world the sun is really important, but for a Greek it is really vital. And the day yesterday was so sunny, that could make you forget almost any problem you had.
The organizers have to admit that the choice of the place was wrong. IBIS hotel is maybe a good hotel for people to stay, but the size and the dynamism of Greek business in Romania can not be hosted in a small conference room there. I also have to admit something else: The work of the organizers and the speeches were so interesting, that all the audience forgot the bad choice of the place…

The Irish firstly agree upon what they disagree..
For the ones who don’t know, BBW is Bucharest Business Week magazine (www.bbw.ro) is one of the two mainstream publications which cover the Romanian business for the last 10 years. I have personally used its information many times, as its approach and view to business is close enough to mine (I am also interested in all quality publications, due to my background in journalism and my own newspaper in Greece). Its publisher, mr Sean Hillen, and his team have done a very good job. (By the way, for the ones who know, Irish and Greeks have many more common points than what most people know).
Mr Hillen started the event with an interesting joke about the Irish people: Before they start discussing for something, they sit down and agree in what they… disagree! But there was no disagreement that the 4 gentlemen in the panel were really exceptional.

Mr Ioannis Paschalis: Greek companies in Romania employ more than

32.000 employees!
The economics and trade counseling minister of the Greek Embassy here in Romania is someone who has traveled all around the world: Vienna, Moscow, Berlin (when the wall was falling), Toronto, Bonn, Stockholm, Tehran and now Bucharest. He shared with the audience that the experience of Romania is unique, mainly for one reason: Here he met a really strong Greek business community, who was absent in the above mentioned cities.

The figures he presented were really interesting, as Romania is the 6th biggest importer in the world for the Greek products, the Greek investments exceed 3 billion euros (I hope he will allow me to comment that unofficial sources bring this number over 4 billion), some thousands of Greek businessmen live and work here, while thousands of Greek companies have established their presence in the Romanian market. The most impressive: Greek companies employ in Romania over 32.000 people (almost all of them Romanians).
For him the future of Romania is more or less solid and he is surprised by the dynamism of the Romanian economy. This guy is reminding me of the “uncle we all had / wished to have”, who has experience of all around the world and he is willing to share it with you, combined with the “businessman” who will sit down and put arguments on the table, will smile and try to find solutions in problems. By far he has nothing to do with the model of several diplomats, whose arrogance and lack of knowledge becomes really boring.

Mr Michalis Sotiriou: Aloumil’s Romanian success story
Aloumil is a Greek industry, based in Northern Greece and present today in 24 countries, if I remember correctly. Its president is mr Giorgos Mylonas, President today of the Industrialists of Northern Greece, an exceptional businessman in my country.
But Aloumil in Romania is a different story. Guided by mr Michalis Sotiriou, the company was one of the pioneers in Romania, having launched its aluminum production here since the early ‘90s. “And why do I care for another successful company?” someone may ask. We should. Not only because it was imported in the Romanian Stock Exchange, having received 14 times the capital it asked, not only because its products and management team are really good, but because its example can give us very good lessons.

The strategy that made the difference

Many times I say to investors, friends, businessmen and others “RESPECT ROMANIA and Romania will respect you 10 times more”.  5 – 10 years ago, the Romanian market was much different than today and most of the newcomers in the aluminum sector had the following strategy: “I rent a warehouse, where I receive orders, I send them to my country and in 30 – 45 days I import the product, so as to deliver it to the customer”. Aloumil studied the market more carefully and realized that it was consisted by small businessmen, really small companies, who just wanted to come to you, to order something TODAY and to take it now and go, paying cash.
So, while most of the others were importing… Aloumil followed another strategy. They opened in the beginning 5 major warehouses around the country, where there was enough stock for almost any order. So, they were selling NOW what the others were offering to deliver in 45 days (and sometimes with problems in customs, it could last even 2 months). Very fast this strategy created an impact in the market, giving to the company a huge added value. They understood the needs of the Romanians, their way of thinking, they offered what people wanted and they became leaders, beating the competition of bigger (but not flexible) companies.
Think about it for a second. How many of us (myself included) have tried to understand and respect the Romanian perception of business? For sure all of us have our principals and codes of ethics, but after these basics the flexibility and the listening of the real needs of a market is what makes the difference. And mr Michalis Sotiriou deserves a credit exactly because of this strategy…

Mr Stavros Lekkakos: “Don’t stick in the figures, try to understand the REAL

economy”
I am very proud as a Greek for having here in Romania men like mr Lekkakos, the President of Pireaus Bank Romania, in charge of major banks. His experience and seriousness are a credit that gives a boost to an organization like Pireaus Bank. (Yesterday it was a rare occasion to have gathered together 3 Presidents of Greek Banks, mr Lekkakos, mr Oprescu from Alpha Bank and mr Sofianos from Egnatia Bank – Marfin in few weeks).
The discussion was really interesting and far away from stereotypes and formal words that really allow the audience to sleep for a while. Very dynamic and serious, mr Lekkakos pointed out the problems of Romania today, describing the future in positive way. He explained why the current trade deficit is so big, described that the measures have already been taken by the National Bank of Romania and stated his confidence about the growth of this country.
I would like to point out something from his words (ok, he didn’t use exactly these ones, but this is the sum…): “There are some young boys in England and USA, sitting in their office, who write scenarios and describe Romania’s potential. The same persons who were writing triumphs for Romania even some months ago, today they speak about big danger. What has changed in just few months? Nothing at all. This is why we suggest to the investors to focus more on the REAL economy and not on the rumors of the ones who say one thing today and exactly the opposite tomorrow. Despite all the problems, Romania will move forward and will have a solid future”.

Mr Sergiu Bogdan Opescu: “I’ve seen the real problems in the past, the situation today is not that bad as it is described”
If as a Greek I am proud of some exceptional Greek business people, I think that Romanians should be proud of mr Oprescu and lots of others like him. The Executive President of Alpha Bank in Romania really knows what he talks about and uses arguments, he is far away from the model of the newly rich Romanian who claims that whatever he says is right, because he has money.
Calm and careful, he described the situation of Romanian economy, giving more details that were interesting for the audience. I liked a lot his opposition to the new measure of National Bank of Romania, which does not allow to banks to lend money to someone in hard currency (euro is the usual case) if his income is obtained in another currency (ron is this one). This means that if someone is paid in ron, he can only borrow money in ron. This is not good, imagine all the employees coming to their boss and asking their salary to be adjusted to euros, because they will ask for their fair right of being paid in a way that it will allow them to have a credit in the near future.
But most of all, mr Oprescu carries a tremendous experience, that is very difficult to be gained. He was the first employee of Alpha Bank in Romania 15 years ago (in Greek we say “he opened the shop”) and he has been through all the difficult moments of the Romanian economy in the past. So, when this experience talks, at least we should all listen carefully (again, my sum): “The problems that we have today are nothing comparing to the ones we had faced in the past. In 1999 there was a real problem in the banking sector and the economy of Romania in general, it was the time when the Romanian state was in need of money. Today the system is regulated and the indicators are positive. Ofcourse there is a problem, but it will pass without to harm the heart of Romanian economy”.

Addressing to the audience: Many interesting ideas
After a long conversation with the 4 above mentioned gentlemen, mr Hillen addressed to the audience. Some really important companies presented their point of view and their success story:

• Egnatia (future Marfin) Bank, www.egnatiabank-rom.ro/, represented by its President mr Stelios Sofianos, who plans its further expansion this year to 31 units from 19. Mr Sofianos is in Romania for over 10 years, being the Greek with the biggest experience in the banking sector
• Romtelecom, www.romtelecom.ro/, represented by mr Fotis Karonis, a guy who really surprised the audience with his energy in speech. He described how Romtelecom (the domestic IT leader whose 54% belongs to the Greek national telephony company OTE) made an impressive turn around story last year. They were losing 50.000 – 60.000 clients / month (!) in the first 2 quarters of the year, they managed to bring the number to 0 in the 3rd quarter and they even reported increase of subscriptions until the year end.
• Edrasis, www.edrasis.gr/index.asp?a_id=79, represented by mr Panagiotis Loukas, (leader in foundations today, having tripled their figures in the last 3 years), who are also in charge of an ambitious project,  the launching of a Greek School in Bucharest.
• Stirom, http://www.stirom.ro/, (represented by a very intelligent Romanian gentleman), a company that really improved a lot the last years, reaching now almost 500 people personnel and tens of millions of exports.
• Elgeka Ferfelis, www.elgeka-ferfelis.ro/, the leader in distribution of products, with “479 employees until today at 12.00” as its representative stated. All the figures of the company are increasing a lot and they also entered now in Republic of Moldova.
• Euroconsultants, www.euroconsultants.gr/, represented by mr Nikos Rakintzis. The company is one of the biggest in South-eastern Europe in consulting about various projects and especially regarding E.U. projects and funds. Mr Rakintzis analysed to the audience the allocation of E.U. budget for supporting the investments in 2008.
• Epsilon, www.epsilon-imob.ro/. Despite the fact that they are also real estate brokers like I am (so, they could be called opponents in work), they have a serious name and now they announced that they are re-organizing. For me every serious company is not an opponent, but a potential friend with who we can work and promote our business in a professional way.
• Some other companies, which I don’t remember now, whose representatives had also an interesting comment for the current business environment in Romania.
• Unfortunately, my friend mr Nawaf Salameh, President of Alexandrion Group, was not present when he was asked to speak. They are one of the biggest players in the domestic market and his opinion about business is really important, as he created a huge group out of nothing and by work. If you don’t know about the company, here you can see an advertisement of them that I found in youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qth-pPUFKZ8 (I like this one because the music is characteristic, Greek and I know dancing with it quite good)
• There were also some awards in the end of the event, given by a gentleman I don’t know, a member of the parliament (if I understood correctly) with Armenian roots. He was really amusing but he was very interesting guy.

“Mr Ilias Papageorgiadis, from MORE International Invest… is he here, somewhere?”
To be honest, I didn’t expect to be searched and to be asked questions about me and my company (and I was second in the list). Mr Hillen managed to surprise me and seemed to know for me much more than what I know for him…
I was also asked by mr Hillen about me and my company. For him the most important was to explain to him the reason of the fast growth we had in the last years and especially the 127 million of transactions in 2007. I was also asked about the smallest transaction I have made (42.000 euro, as far as I remember) and the biggest one (48.000.000 euro).
For me the numbers are not so important. What is more important is the good name, the seriousness and the professionalism in everything we do in our daily business. This is why I told to mr Hillen that out of the 10 “smallest deals” I was introduced to the investors who made with me 7 of the 10 “biggest deals” I had. So, when someone who invested a really small amount of money was satisfied by my work, he introduced me to the one who wanted to invest millions.
Also, I informed him and the audience about the market’s trend to move from Bucharest to the other cities, a trend that I believe and I follow since 2005 (when 90% of the people I was discussing with were making fun of me for this opinion and now they come to me as “the only crazy who knows very well these markets”).

Talking with mr Oprescu
Being a real estate consultant, a broker, requires very good information. And talking with mr Oprescu, Alpha Bank’s Executive President, is always an excellent opportunity to discuss with someone WHO REALLY KNOWS. I was glad to find out that we shared many common opinions about the market and also to hear about the latest news upon the way that a strategic player in the market, Alpha Bank, approaches the Real Estate business nowadays and especially the residential sector (my favourite one).

Overall
Being a Real Estate Consultant, a broker, one must be very well informed about almost everything that has to do with his business. I was very happily surprised yesterday in BBW’s event because I received…. TONS of useful feedback, by experts who were talking without arrogance and “wooden words” (greek expression), trying to explain the actual situation and to describe the future with an easy to understand approach.
I know that most of you have allergy in conferences. Trust me, this one was different. And I hope that this level of interest will be maintained in all the future events of BBW.